Developing container



I United States Patent 1 1 3,545,363

[72] lnventors c -k w,B -i h r 3,266,896 8/1966 Aebi et a1. 95/89X 531 RaymondAve.; 3,435,751 4/1969 Goodman etal... 95/94 James E. Hawley, 1000 Seminary Ave., St. 2,030,143 2/1936 Giger-Knusli 222/497X Paul, Minnesota 55104 FOREIGN PATENTS a [211 APPLNQ 745,022 341,972 1/1931 Great Britain... ..........9589(gas) 1 Flled 91511968 711,314 6/1954 1 Great Britain... ..9589(gas) [451 Palemed Dec-8,1970 776,016 5/1957 Great Britain... Was-89 616,993 11/1926 France 95-89(gas) DEVELOPING CONTAINER 623,500 3/1927 France ......95-89(gas) 11 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs. jn mary filgcammer- -Jghg M. gitgan ssistant xaminero ert reiner 521 u.s.c1. 1 95/89;

89/94; 141/351; 222/501; 251/339 "1" Alfred [51] lnt.Cl. 6031! 7/00 1 1 [50] Fieldofsearch. 1 95/89, ABSTRACT: A container f developing materials having 89(8a$),94"94(gas) 222/501; 141/346347' coated thereon diazo chemicals that require ammonia 348 351251/149-6321,339 developing. The container is sealed and unvented to allow R f d portable use in confined spaces. Either anhydrous ammonia or [56] e I e ammonia in aqueous solution may be used as the developing UNITED STATES PATENTS agent with the container. The anhydrous ammonia may be 1,759,484 5/1930 Langsner 95/94(gas)UX compressed as a liquid in a cylinder which has a tamper-proof 2,276,502 3/1942 McCoy 251/339X valve that prevents accidental emission of the ammonia.

1 I III! V I II I I [i71 II 1 l 1H1. 1 o 26 55 a o 34 I 36 I 32 4s 1 1 11, 1 1 w I I I II I II PATENTEDHEUBIHYB SHEEUBFZ 3.545363 55 N "W 26 34 36 1 g: \o 4o O 38 g 54 50 H1 4 I I I,

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loo}: ht 'l W 3 r "l r 98 M... so 9, x3? 82 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\W\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 84 86 INVENTORS Hg 5 7 CHARLES m .BR/CHER JAMES E. HAM LE) BY W f/M ATTORNEY PATENTEUUEC 8l970 3,'-545;3 53

sum 2 BF 2 INVENTOIRS CHARLES W BR/CHEI? JAMES E HAWLEY BY W f/M ATTORNEY h DEVELOPING CONTAINER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is an increasing demand in our age of exploding technology for machines that can copy articles, pages of books, magazines, letters, etc. While a great variety of these machines exist, there is a distinct need for a machine of this type which can be economically placed in individual homes and yet it must be simple and safe to operate.

One of the most economical units to build and to operate is a type which utilizes ammonia as the agent to develop materials having a diazo chemical thereon. However, the disadvantages of this type of unit are related to the developing agent, the ammonia. This chemical is harsh and harmful to the skin and its vapors are acrid and extremely irritating to the nostrils. Thus, presently available machines must be vented to outside atmosphere and must be operated by an individual who knows how to handle the ammonia. It is therefore obvious that such units cannot be used in confined areas as portable units.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention disclosed herein relates to a container for developing materials such as materials having coated thereon diazo chemicals that require ammonia developing. The container is simple and economical to build in the form of anhydrous ammonia which is compressed as a liquid in a throwaway bottle. The bottle has a tamper-proof valve which enables the ammonia vapors to escape only under predetermined conditions. Thus, a child could not use a pencil or other sharp-pointed object to release the vapors.

The ammonia, in either its aqueous oran hydrous form, may

be in a container or bottle that is either inside of or external to the developing container. An ammonia bottle containing the ammonia in its anhydrous form may be attached to the developing container in such a manner that merely pressing against the end of the bottle will release ammonia vapors into the container. In its most simple form, the developing container would have a lid that could be raised to remove the developed material. This, of course, would allow the small amount of ammonia fumes in the container to escape into the ambient atmosphere. It would further have a slot therein through which the material to be developed could be inserted into the container. This slot would be sealed with a flexible material such as rubber or nylon which would cover the slot when notin use but which would allow any material to be inserted into the, container through the slot.

An even less amount of fumes would be allowed to escape by using a container having in the bottom thereof, a drawer having a small volume into which material to be developed may be placed and from whichthey may be withdrawn after the developing process has been completed. The smaller the volume of the drawer, the less vapors would escape from the container when the drawer is opened.

If it is desired to avoid the lid ordrawer which would allow vapors to escape when the lid or drawer is opened to allow ,materials to be removed, the container is constructed with a sloping ramp having a slot or a pair of rollers at the high end through which material to be developed could be inserted and a pair of rollers at the low end which would receive the materiescaping.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a simple and economical developing container which can utilize ammonia in either its aqueous solution or in its anhydrous form.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a simple and economical developing container which utilizes anhydrous ammonia in a container having a tamper-proof valve which prevents unwanted and harmful vapors to be released except under predetermined conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other more detained and specific objectives will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 discloses the basic container for developing materials such as materials having coated thereon diazo chemicals that require ammonia developing;

FIG. 2 shows the manner of sealing the slot in the container of FIG. 1 which receives the material to be developed;

FIG. 3 discloses a second embodiment of the present invention wherein a first pair of rollers is used to form a seal and yet to insert materials to be developedinlto the container and onto a ramp from which they slide to a second pair of rollers at the bottom of the ramp which also form a seal but which removes the developed materials from the container;

FIG. 4 discloses a thirdtembodiment of the present invention which utilizes rollers in a different manner to seal and yet insert and remove material from the developing container;

FIG. 5 discloses a fourth embodiment of the present invention wherein the basic container has a drawer of minimum volume which is slidably removable from the container and which has a first position which seals the container, a second position which enables materials to be inserted into the container and a third position which enables the material to be removed from the container;

FIG. 6 discloses how a bottle of anhydrous ammonia may be inserted in or attached to a developing container whereby safe release of the ammonia fumes or vapors may be accomplished;

FIG. 7 discloses a side view of the tamper-proof valve for the bottle of anhydrous ammonia; and i FIG. 8 is a top view of the novel valve.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The basic container for developing materials such as materials having coated thereon diazo chemicals that require ammonia developing is shown in FIG. l and comprises a closed box indicated generally by the numeral 2 having a lid 4, hinged at 6 and having a handle 8, by which the lid 4 may be opened. Box 2 has a slot 10 through which material to be developed maybe inserted. This slot is sealed to prevent gaseous vapors from escaping as will be shown with reference to FIG. 2. Between the lid 4, and the upper edge of the side and end walls of the box 2, is a seal 12 formed of a resilient material such as rubber or nylon which prevents any gas or vapor from escaping from the box 2. Ammonia vapors may be introduced into the box 2 through tube 14, which may enter the box 2 at any convenient location. Box 2 may be constructed of a transparent material such as plastic in order that the developing process may be readily observed andthe lid 4 will not have to be opened until the developing process has been completed.

As stated earlier, the slot in FIG. 1, is sealed to prevent gaseous vapors from escaping from box 2. The details of this seal are shown in FIG. 2. Slot 10 is shown formed in wall 16 of box 2 with a seal that includes a soft, flexible flap 18, such as rubber or nylon which is attached to wall 16 by any wellknown means such as by screw 20, in a manner to cover slot 10. When material to be developed is inserted into slot 10 as indicated by arrow 22, the flap 18 is distorted to a position designated by the numeral 22 which allows the material to fall into the box 2 interior. The flap then moves from the distorted position 24 back to its normal position 18, where it prevents any vapors from escaping from the interior of the container.

The developer shown in FIG. 3 is a modification of the device shown in FIG. 1 and may be used where it is desirable not to have to lift a lid to remove the material that has been developed. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a pair of rollers 26 and 28 are mounted in one end wall of box 2 in rolling contact with each other. Seals 30 and 32 provide a gastight mounting to prevent vapors from escaping from around the rollers 26 and 28 respectively. These seals, as the others, may be formed of a resilient material such as rubber or nylon and are placed in contact with the rollers to form the seal. As the rollers are turned, manually or by other means, the paper or other material is inserted between the rollers as indicated by arrow 34 and is pulled into the box interior where it falls on ramp 36. Ramp 36 is ventilated or could be perforated with a plurality of holes 38 which enable ammonia vapors from the ammonia source 40 located in chamber 42 below the ramp 36 to enter upper chamber 44 to develop the material inserted therein.

Ramp 36 is made of a smooth material such as plastic and is placed at such an angle that the material falling thereon as it passes through rollers 26 and 28 tends to slide to the bottom of the ramp in contact with a second pair of rollers 46 and 48. By turning rollers 46 and 48 in the proper direction by any wellknown means, the material is pulled from the box 2 in the direction of arrow 50. Thus no lid has to be lifted in order to remove the materials that have been developed and a minimum of vapors are emitted from the box 2 interior. Door 52, having handle 54, is provided in order to insert the ammonia source 40 into the lower chamber 42 and to remove it when necessary. Obviously the ammonia vapors could be fed into chamber 44 through orifice 55 from an external source.

FIG. 4 is a further modification of the developer shown in FIG. 3 and comprises box 2 having first and second rollers 56 and 58 respectively mounted in one end thereof diametrically opposite and in contact with a third roller 60. If material to be developed is inserted between rollers 56 and 60 in the direction shown by arrow 62 and the rollers are turned in the proper direction, the material will be drawn into the interior of box 2 where it will fall on ramp 64. Ramp 64 is perforated with a plurality of holes 66 which-enable the vapors of the ammonia from source 68 in lower chamber 70 to enter the upper chamber 72 and develop the material located therein. Ramp 64 is constructed of a smooth material such as plastic and, again, is placed at such an angle that the material falling thereon as it passes through rollers 56 and 60 tends to slide down the ramp where it comes in contact with rollers 60 and 58. As roller 60 is turned in the proper direction the material inside the box 2 is withdrawn in the direction shown by arrow 74. Further, a door 76 is provided having handle 78 in order to insert and remove the ammonia source 68. Thus, it will be seen that the container shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 enable material to be developed, including inserting the material in the developer and removing it when developed, without allowing the ammonia vapors to be emitted into the ambient atmosphere. Such devices therefore, since they are economical to construct and small in size, can be readily made available as portable models which can be used in confined spaces where adequate ventilation would not be available to remove large amounts of harmful vapors or fumes.

FIG. 5 illustrates a developer that does not have rollers or a lid but which utilizes a drawer having a small volume into which materials to be developed may be placed and from which they may be withdrawn after the developing process has been completed. Thus drawer 80 has handle 82 by which it may be positioned in one of three positions. The first position is the fully closed position which traps the gas or vapors in the interior of box 2. The second position is a partially open position which allows materials to be placed in the drawer. The third position is an extended open position which enables materials placed in the drawer to be removed. Drawer 80 is held in each of these positions by a detent 84 which may be a ball bearing or the like, held in place by a resilient biasing means such as a spring 86. In the bottom of the drawer 80 are three indentations 88, 90, and 92 into which the detent may be urged to form a lock which tends to hold the drawer 80 in a particular position. Indentation 88 holds the drawer 80 in its fully closed position, indentation 90 holds the drawer 80 in its partially open position to enable materials to be placed therein and indentation 92 holds the drawer 80 in its extended open position to enable materials placed therein to be removed.

It is obvious, of course, that a slot 94 with associated seal 96, as previously described could be used in box 2 which would enable the second position of the drawer 80 and its corresponding detent 90 to be eliminated. Further, a seal 98 of material previously described would be attached to the drawer or the mating portion of box 2 in order to prevent ,fumes or vapors from escaping between the box 2 and drawer 80. Also, ammonia vapors could be introduced into box 2 via hose or tube 100 from an external source or in any other desired manner.

The depth of drawer 80, and thus its volume, may vary depending upon the requirements of the user. For common household use where only one or two sheets may be developed at a time, the depth may be one half inch or less. However, where 50 or 60 sheets are to be developed the drawer may have a depth of an inch or more. However, even with a depth of an inch, it will be seen that the volume of the drawer 80 is reasonably small and when extended full length from the box 2 will cause a minimum of the vapors or gases to be emitted to the surrounding or ambient atmosphere.

As stated earlier, either ammonia in aqueous solution or anhydrous ammonia which may be compressed as a liquid in a cylinder may be used in any of the above-described developing containers. The use of anhydrous ammonia eliminates the need for handling of liquid ammonia in aqueous solution. Since the requirement of handling liquid ammonia in aqueous solution was and is one of the disadvantages of using small economical developing units, the use of anhydrous ammonia as a compressed liquid in a cylinder eliminates this disadvantage and allows the use of the units by any person no matter how inexperienced without fear of exposure to harmful liquids.

FIG. 6 illustrates how such a cylindrical container for the anhydrous ammonia could be mounted in a box 2 in such a manner that merely pressing the end of the cylinder protruding from the box 2 is pressed inwardly. O-ring 104 or any other suitable seal is located in the wall around the cylinder or bottle 106 to prevent vapor leakage around the cylinder 106.

FIG. 7 discloses the details of the tamper-proof valve that is preferred in the present invention. Any other type could be used however. Cup-shaped member 108 forms one end of the cylinder 106. The bottom 110 of the member 108 forms one wall between the inside and the outside of the cylinder 106. Valve body 111 includes valve poppet 112 located in an orifice 113 in the bottom 110 of cup-shaped member 108 and upper shoulders 116 which are urged in a direction to keep the orifice closed by a resilient biasing member such as spring 114. The upper shoulders 116 rest in detents 118 of a plurality of segments 120 which prevent the poppet 112 from being moved in a direction to open the orifice 113. Each of the segments 120 is pivotally attached to bottom wall 110 at 122 which will enable the segments 120 to be moved away from upper shoulders 116 thus freeing the shoulders 116 from the detents 118 and enabling the poppet 112 to be moved in a downward direction to open orifice 113 in the bottom 110 of cup-shaped member 108. it is to be understood however that all of the segments 120 must be simultaneously moved away from the shoulders 116 in order-to completely free the poppet 112 and enable it to move in a downward direction and open orifice 113 to release the contents of the cylinder 106. One segment is shown in the pivoted position by the dotted outline 124. In order to keep the segments 120 in a position holding the valve 120 from moving until properly activated, resilient biasing means 126, such .as springs or elastic cord, rest in grooves 128. Since biasing means 128 extends completely around the plurality of segments 120 as shown more completely in FIG. 8 the segments 120 are held in the closed position to locksh oulders 116 and, thus, poppet 112 and prevent its movement to open orifice 113.

As shown in FIG. 7, there is associated with cylinder 106 an anvil 102 which is the means by which the valve body 111 is actuated. Anvil 102 has base 130 on which is integrally formed a truncated cone having sloping surfaces 132 on which rests integrally formed extension 134. When the cylinder 106 is urged toward anvil 102, surfaces 132 come in contact with segments 120 causirigthemto move in, an outward direction thus freeing theshoulders 116 when the segments 120 have moved sufficiently outwardto disengage detents 118 from shoulders 116. As the cylinder 106 is further urged towards anvil 102, extensiori 134 comes in contact with the upper shoulders 116 of valve body 111 and depresses the valve against spring 114. Thus orifice 113 is opened and the contents of the cylinder 106 is emitted to the inside of the container in which it is located. When the pressure is removed from the bottom of cylinder 106 which urges it toward the anvil 102, spring 114 forces valve shoulders1l6 to their normal position. The reaction to the removal of the pressure from thefbottom of the cylinder 106 causes the cylinder to move away from anvil 102. As the cylinder 106 moves away from 'anvil 102, the surfaces 132 tend to move out of contact with upper shoulders 116 of valvebody 111 locked securely in the detents 118 of segments 120. Biasing means or spring 126 can be seen extending completely around the periphery of the segments 1 20thus holding each of the segments securely in its innermost position.

The poppet 112, then, is one that cannot be actuated unless two conditions occur simultaneously. The first condition is that segments 120 must be moved in an outwardly direction sufficiently to disengage uppershoulders 116 of valve body 111 from detents 118. The second condition requires that the valve body 111 be depressed against spring 114. Thus, by properly designingthe location of the segments 120 to form a circle with proper inside diameter, it can be seen that valve 111 could not be actuated by a pencil or other slender object. The valve, therefore is tamper proof and a cylinder 106 could be safely handled by children or otherinexperienced persons without danger of accidentally releasing dangerous or harmful or irritating ammonia fumes or vapors.

Further, the operation of cylinder 106 is simple to learn. Merely remove the old container, shown for instance in FIG. 6, and insert a new one. When ready to develop diazo materials, merely press the bottom of the container or cylinder 106 inwards towards the box 2, to release the fumes in the box. A short period of experimentation will easily determine how long the cylinder should be depressed in order to release the proper amount ofgases into the box 2. Further since the box 2 is preferably made or constructed of a transparent material, it will be easy to watch the rate of developing of the materials therein and thus, ammonia vapors or gases can be released from cylinder 106 as desired to speed the developing process.

Thus, there has been described, a container for developing materials such as those having diazo chemicals coated thereon and that require ammonia developing. The container is economical to construct and yet is simple to operate and safe for any person to use even though they have little experience with ammonia developing. These units do not require being vented to the outside atmosphere but can be operated as portable units in confined areas. Thus, a long standing need in the art is satisfied.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure, as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim: t

l. A developing container comprising:

a. an enclosed structure having side and end walls and top and bottom covers; 1

b. means coupled to said structure for enabling developing gases to be introduced into the interior thereof;

0. a slot extending through one of :said structure walls and communicating with the interior of said structure;

d. a soft, flexible flap attached on the interior side of said structure wall in such a=manner so as to cover the slot and prevent gases therein from escaping but which will allow materials to be developed to be passed therethrough from the outside of said structure; and

e. a drawer slidably mounted in the bottom of said structure for receiving materials to be inserted in and received from said structure. A container comprising:

a. an enclosed structure having side and end walls and top and bottom covers;

b. a ventilated ramp inside said structure extending from sidewall to sidewall and from end wall to end wall and separating said structure into upper and lower chambers,

, said ramp being placed at such an angle that materials thereon slide to the lower end thereof;

c. a source of developing gases located in said lower chamber whereby said gases pass through said ramp to said upper chamber;

d. means located in one of said structure walls for enabling materialsto be developed to be inserted into the interior of said upper chamber and onto said ramp without developing gases therein escaping; and

e. means located in the opposite one of said structure walls at the lower end of said ramp for receiving and removing materials that have been developed from the upper chamber of said structure without developing gases therein escaping.

3. A developing container as in claim 2, wherein said means for enabling materials to be developed tobe inserted into said upper chamber comprises a pair of rollers mounted in a gastight relationship in said one of said structure walls in rotatable contact with each other whereby materials inserted between said rollers will be drawn into said upper chamber and whereby gases will not escape from said chamber.

4. A developing container as in claim 3 wherein said means for receiving and removing materials from said chamber comprises: a second pair of rollers mountedin a gastight relationship in said opposite one of said structure walls, said rollers being mounted in rotatable contact with each other and positioned at the lower end of said ramp such that materials on said ramp will be received and removed as said rollers rotate.

5. A container-as in claim 4 wherein said source of developing gases is an aqueous solution of ammonia.

6. A developing container as in claim 4 wherein said source of developing gases comprises:

a. a cylinder of anhydrous ammonia under pressure and having a valve for controllably releasing ammonia vapors; and

b. a valve actuator mounted in said container in operative relationship to said cylinder whereby pressing said cylinder valve against said valve actuator causes said ammonia vapors to be released.

7. A developing container comprisingi a. an enclosed structure having side and end walls and top and bottom covers;

b. a ventilated ramp inside said structure extending from sidewall to sidewall and from end wall to end wall and separating said structure into upper and lower chambers, said ramp being placed at such an angle that materials thereon slide to the lower end thereof;

c. a source of developing gases located in said lower chamber whereby said gases pass through said ramp to said upper chamber; and

d. means located in said wall associated with said lower end of said ramp for enabling materials to be developed to be inserted into the interior of said upper chamber and onto said ramp and to receive and remove materials on said ramp that have been developed without the developing gases therein escaping.

8. A developing containeras in claim 7 wherein said means for inserting and removing materials to and from said upper chamber comprises:

a. first and second rollers mounted in rotatable contact with each other and positioned at the lower end of said ramp such that materials on said ramp will be received and removed as said rollers rotate; and

b. third roller mounted in contact with said second roller and substantially diametrically opposite said first roller whereby when said first and second rollers rotate in a manner to remove said material from the inside of said structure, said second and third rollers are rotating in a manner to insert material into said upper chamber of said structure, said first, second and third rollers being mounted in said wall in a gastight relationship.

9. A developing container as in claim 7 wherein said source of developing gases comprises: v"

a. a cylinder of anhydrous ammonia under pressure and" having a valve in an orifice in said cylinder for controllably releasing ammonia vapors; and

b. a valve actuator mounted in said container in operative relationship to said cylinder whereby pressing said cylinder valve against said valve actuator to open said orifice causes said ammonia vapors to be released.

10, A developing container as in claim 9 wherein said 10 cylinder valve comprises:

a. a valve body slidably mounted in said cylinder orifice,

said body including a poppet at one end and upper shoulders at the other;

b. resilient biasing means urging said shoulders in a direction to cause said poppet to close said orifice; and

c. locking means operatively associated with said shoulders for preventing movement of said valve body until said locking means is disengaged.

11. A developing container as in claim 10 wherein said cylinder valve locking means comprises: 

